


The Art of Balance

by Turntechgodliness (AmberzillaRex)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, Gavin has an anxiety attack, M/M, Mention of childhood abandonment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 10:09:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6234526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberzillaRex/pseuds/Turntechgodliness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geoff had told Jeremy to teach Gavin how to be graceful. Jeremy...isn't so sure that's a thing he's able to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Balance

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I just like the idea of Jeremy going to teach Gavin how to be graceful and Gavin being like >:/ no u. 
> 
> I just. I have a lot of feelings about them. Okay?

Jeremy Dooley had never in his life imagined that some day, he would have the joy and privilege - if one could call it that- of teaching the great and mysterious Gavin Free how to do, well, anything. Truthfully, he hadn’t wanted the task Geoff had passed off to him; to attempt to make the con man a bit more graceful by utilizing the snipers own past gymnastics training and teaching Gavin a bit of balance. Jeremy honestly wasn't sure if what Geoff was asking him to do was possible; Gavin was a calamity on two left feet, charming but incredibly clumsy in just about everything he did. Jeremy had watched the man trip over nothing several times, and while he had yet to mess up a heist with his inability to be graceful it was only a matter of time before he did. He could understand Geoff’s concern at the other mans difficulty to make it through the day without tripping over something. 

“I told Geoffrey I don’t need your help, bloody hell. I know gymnastics, I don’t need this.” Jeremy gave a small chuckle at Gavin's exasperation, amused that the blond didn't seem to want to be there any more than he himself did. 

“Look, I’ll teach you some handstands and cartwheels and we’ll be done, Gav. Geoff just wants to help your apparent balance issue that, lets be honest, may or may not stem from your massive nose. “ Gavin shot Jeremy a deadly glare, causing the shorter man to throw his hands up in surrender as he took a step back. “Hey it wasn't my idea dude. Come on, I’ll teach you some easy stuff. “ the words were meant to calm Gavin down, though they seemed to simply rile him up more as he let out an angered huff. 

“What, do you think I’m not capable of learning how to do harder stuff? You think I’m too clumsy, is that it?” Jeremy kept his hands up, taken back by the bitterness in the Brit's voice as Gavin glared at him. He hadn’t expected much when Geoff had told him that Gavin would meet him in the gym that resided in the bottom floor of the complex the penthouse was in, and was surprised when Gavin had shown up in designer sweats and a tight shirt, having brought spare workout clothing in case Gavin had none. He hadn’t anticipated the crankiness, either; he couldn't recall ever seeing Gavin so bitter over something in the short time he had known the man. 

“I just want to help out, Gavin. I’m sorry if I offended you...what do you want to learn?” Gavin stared him down for a moment before sighing, running a hand through his hair as he leant back against the balance beam he’d been standing next to. Truth be told, the blond looked exhausted; if Jeremy recalled correctly, Gavin and Ryan had been out on business for most of the day. “We...don’t have to do this today, Gav. Not if you’re tired. We can do it tomorrow or something.” Gavin shot him a look that he couldn’t comprehend, somewhere between amusement and exasperation, and pulled himself up to sit on the balance beam, legs dangling under him. 

“Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the fact that you’re willing to try and teach me things. I do. It’s that Geoff didn’t ask me how I felt about his little decision, Jeremy. He’s constantly doing this to me, pushing me into things I don’t much care to do. And sometimes, yes, it’s because he’s being the boss and he needs me to do it but he doesn’t need me to do it this time, he’s just being an arse.” Jeremy watched as Gavin chalked his hands before pulling himself up onto the beam, standing almost gracefully at the end of the balance beam with one foot in front of him as he raised his arms above his head in what Jeremy recognized as a starting stance for a beam routine. “He treats me like I’m a bloody child sometimes, and it’s frustrating. I’m not. I’m a capable adult and I think he forgets that.” Jeremy watched as Gavin took a few controlled steps, surprised as the other man performed a textbook scale followed by a split leap. Jeremy pulled himself onto a close by sawhorse, settling down to watch Gavin curiously as the blond moved into an arabesque, holding the pose for several seconds in an impressive show of control and balance. “I had a life before I came here. I’m not just the clumsy golden boy.” Gavin leant back into a back arch, his hands connecting with the beam as he held himself up, arms shaking with the exertion as he rested his elbows on the wood, his legs dropping into an upside down split before he pushed himself up, slowly, into a handstand. Letting his legs drop back down, he used his momentum to push himself into a back handspring, before performing a pivot turn and dismounting the beam with a forwards flip. He stumbled slightly on the landing, and Jeremy clapped enthusiastically as he watched Gavin shake out his wrists. 

“I’m impressed. It seems like you don’t need any help from me; I didn’t know you studied gymnastics, Gavin.” Gavin frowned, wiping his hands on his pants before turning to walk towards Jeremy. 

“My parents insisted. Six hours a day, five days a week. I’ve never been what people would consider graceful. They also enrolled me in ballet, not that it helped any outside of a studio.” Jeremy nodded, watching Gavin carefully as the other spoke. The other man seemed somewhat serious, and Jeremy gestured for him to join him in sitting on the sawhorse, helping him up. He couldn’t recall a time Gavin had willingly talked about his past, and he didn’t want to deter him in doing so. “I was a bit of an embarrassment to my mum and dad, really. Not so eloquent, always in trouble...Dan and I spent a lot of time alone in my big old house. That’s sort of how we got in with the first gang we ran with, actually...someone thought that kidnapping me would be a good idea. Turns out, Dan and I were more than they bargained for and my parents didn’t want me back. And years of etiquette training? Pretty handy when you’re a con-artist.” He flashed Jeremy a grin, his carefree expression almost believable if Jeremy hadn’t heard the under lying hurt in the recounting of the story. Reaching out, Jeremy took Gavin’s hand, lacing their fingers together as he watched the other man’s lips quirk into a small half smile. 

“Well, it was totally their loss, they were idiots to not want to rescue you. I can only imagine how adorable you must have been as a kid.” Gavin snorted, a faint blush gracing his cheeks as he glanced away from Jeremy. 

“I bloody well wasn’t. I was gangly and awkward and I was always getting in trouble for asking too many questions. Still am, on all accounts I suppose…” Jeremy frowned, leaning to press his fingers to Gavin’s chin, tilting his face to look at him. 

“I think you’re pretty cute. And yeah, you do still ask an absurd amount of ridiculous questions, but I like that about you. So fuck your parents. Are they still in England? We should go rob them. That money’s rightfully yours, right?” Gavin chuckled, leaning into the touch as he watched Jeremy with amusement. 

“I mean technically, it is my inheritance….” Jeremy grinned, and Gavin gave a little gasp, shoving the other man’s chest playfully. “Lil J I am not robbing my parents.” Jeremy laughed, looping an arm around Gavins waist and pulling him closer.

“How about we just rob a bank instead? I bet you have more money than they do now anyways.” Gavin nodded, and Jeremy beamed. “So, balance lesson over? Though this all just makes me even more confused over your clumsiness. How do you even manage to trip over yourself all the time?” Gavin shrugged, flushing some in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Well, I mean, I’ve other stuff to think about than where my feet are, don’t I?” Jeremy let out a barking laugh,and Gavin groaned, pressing his hand into Jeremy’s face. “Stop, stop that, you’re rude. I’m leaving and I’m going to go make sure that Matt knows you wore a sequinned jacket in today so that he can make fun of you for the next five years.” Jeremy pouted, and Gavin grinned, leaning in to press a playful kiss to the shorter mans nose. “If you’re lucky, he’ll let you live it down in a few months.” Jeremy tried to grab at him as he slid off the sawhorse, too slow to catch him as he darted away, laughing heartily. 

“Get back here! You’ll tell him nothing!” Gavin cackled, darting behind the beam as Jeremy attempted to grab at him over the top of it. The two continued like that for a moment, Jeremy trying to catch Gavin as the Brit darted around the equipment, until Gavin tripped over a floor mat, tumbling to the ground and causing Jeremy to trip over him, the two of them sprawled over the mat groaning. “See, this is why Geoff wants me to try and turn you into a graceful butterfly. How does someone manage to trip so much?” Gavin made an affronted noise, pushing half heartedly at Jeremy's shoulder to try and push him off of him, and Jeremy grinned as he trapped him in place. “Aha, no telling Matt about what may or may not be sequins, not when I have you trapped. You’ll never escape me!” Gavin frowned, shoving at Jeremy’s shoulder again before letting his hand rest on the other man’s shoulder, huffing at the fact that while the other man was certainly shorter than him, Jeremy was more muscular. 

“God, you’re a bloody wall of muscle, aren’t you? You and Michael are the same, short and beefy. I’m going to call you the beeferton twins from now on.” Jeremy snorted, stilling some as Gavin wrapped his arms around his neck. “Oh no, I’m trapped. Whatever shall I do?” The con-man’s voice was flat, though he was smiling as he stared up at Jeremy, a mischievous sort of look that had Jeremy on guard almost immediately. Gavin chuckled, pulling the other man down to press a teasing kiss to his lips before leaning some to brush his lips against Jeremy’s ear. “How about we tell Geoffrey that this was a failed mission and he should leave me be...and then we can go somewhere a bit more private, hmm?” Jeremy stiffened at the words, his arms shaking some at the effort of holding himself up as Gavin shifted under him. They often teased each other, sure; and Jeremy would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that the thought was certainly tempting. Gavin was attractive, and the two of them got along famously- so much so that Michael and Lindsay often teased them about it, Lindsay set on wanting to set them up. He certainly wasn’t averse to the idea, but he also knew that Gavin was a flirt by nature, and could turn the charm on and off almost without realizing it. He wasn’t sure if the blond was serious, or just teasing, and that caused him to pull back slightly. 

 

“And what would we do in that more private place?” Gavin’s brow furrowed at the question, tilting his head slightly as he studied Jeremy’s face a moment. 

“Well, I was hoping whatever it was would involve less clothing, but...did I...did I read all this wrong?” A flush was creeping over Gavin’s cheeks, a clear sign that the other man was embarrassed- a feat for someone who seemingly had no shame. Jeremy almost felt bad for the other man as he attempted to backpedal, shrinking into himself as he stared up at Jeremy wide eyed. “Oh, bollocks, this is why I don’t do this, I...sorry, just, just pretend I said nothing. Can you get off me?” Jeremy frowned, shifting some but not moving off of Gavin, and Gavin’s expression slipped from confused embarrassment to absolute panic. “I...Jeremy, please get off of me. I’m sorry if I offended you in some way I just...I like you? And sometimes I can’t help myself and please don’t hit me I need my face for work and Geoff will be well upset with you an-” Gavin’s hurried words were cut off as Jeremy pressed a firm kiss to his lips, chuckling a little as he pulled away after a moment and took in the look of flustered confusion. 

“You’re, like, ridiculously confusing and you are so idiotically weird sometimes but...I like you too.” The panic faded a little from Gavin's eyes, though it was replaced with an unamused look as he shifted to roll Jeremy off him, swinging a leg over him to straddle and pin him to the floor. 

“Jerk! i thought you...you’re mean! Do you know how bloody difficult it is for me to...to...i can't just tell people-” Gavin cut himself off, taking a few stuttered breaths to calm himself. Jeremy reached to touch Gavin’s shoulders, letting his hands rub along Gavin's arms as he took in the way the other man attempted to pull himself back together. He recalled the way the others had always joked over Gavin's inability to make the first move at bars, but he’d always thought it was just playful teasing, like how they joked about Michael's rage or his own height. He hadn’t considered that it was a serious issue with the other man, one that clearly caused him more panic than previously assumed. 

“Hey, no, I’m sorry Gav. I didn’t mean to freak you out like that, I’m sorry. You’re just really cute when you’re all flustered. Please don’t...please breath.” It took a moment for Gavin to calm down, to bring his breathing back to normal, before Jeremy let his fingers lace with Gavin’s. 

“You can’t do that to me, Jeremy. You can’t...you don’t understand, it’s not just me being a coward or whatever it is that everyone jokes about, it’s a, a crippling anxiety. It’s not bloody funny.” Jeremy frowned, tugging Gavin a bit closer, rubbing his thumbs over the back of the other mans hands as he watched him. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you like that. I won’t do it again, I promise. Is...is that offer for a private room still open? Or did I ruin my chances?” The corner of Gavin’s lips quirked, and Jeremy beamed as he tugged the other man a bit closer. “I could make it up to you. I really am sorry...let me prove it.” The smile grew, and Gavin gave a laugh as he rolled his eyes. 

“Alright. Come on, I’ll let you make it up to me. Maybe you’ll get to see just how flexible I am.” Jeremy made a noise, turning to pull Gavin towards the exit, Gavin’s laughter following them out as they left the gym.


End file.
